Chances are if you’ve landed here you are looking for a film camera. The Nikon FM2 is one of the best film cameras that are readily available on the second-hand market. We have reviews of the best 35mm film you can shoot with this camera here.
Verdict: 4.5/5. Pure mechanical operation, timeless design, and a fast shutter, all at a price that undercuts its reputation. Best for: photographers who want a manual SLR they’ll never need to replace.
Pure Mechanical Operation
Durable Construction and Timeless Design
Fast Shutter and Lens Compatibility
Nikon FM2 Video Review
Why choose an FM2? (or FM2n)
This camera body is all you need in a great 35mm general-purpose SLR camera. It will do everything. The camera is light, tough, accurate, and fast. To be 100% comfortable with the camera you will need an understanding of how to manually focus and expose an image. If you’d rather have the camera help with exposure, its aperture-priority sibling is worth a look too: see our Nikon FE review.
The beauty of a fully mechanical camera is that all you need is a roll of film. Aside from the meter, you do not need a battery to take photos. You wind to advance the film, this loads the shutter system then “click” that energy is let go and the image is captured.
This means that you put a film into the camera, thus fixing your ISO. Next, you determine the aperture or shutter speed that you need to achieve the look you desire. Then, alter the setting that you have not chosen until the meter indicates a correct exposure.
Camera Features
They are one of the most durable, fully mechanical, cameras on the market. Designed to be self-lubricating, you can expect to do very little maintenance. This means that buying a used one will often result in a great product. It has a honeycomb titanium shutter design that is as solid as it sounds!
Compatible with the Nikon F lens mount. If you look on eBay you can see thousands of these lenses available for sale. Therefore you can experiment with many different focal lengths for almost no cost. Full frame quality images at such a low cost. See the lenses here.
This camera has a dedicated Double Exposure setting. It disconnects the film advance and the shutter cocking mechanism. This makes it a great camera for both high-quality images and a bit of creative experimentation.